FBI Fingers Boston Bombing Suspects: ‘They’re Armed and Extremely Dangerous’
Thursday, 18 Apr 2013 05:41 PM
“Somebody out there knows these individuals — as friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard DesLauriers said at a news conference where he asked the public for help. “Though it may be difficult, the nation is counting on those with information to come forward and provide it to us.
“These are the people of interest to the FBI. This is our focus now.”
He added: “They are to be considered armed and extremely dangerous. Do not take any action on your own. If you see these men, contact law enforcement.”
DesLauriers said “Suspect No. 1” was wearing the dark hat and “Suspect No. 2” was wearing the white hat. “They appear to be associated,” he said.
Viewing the images, it appears both suspects were wearing baseball caps; the suspect in the white cap was wearing his turned backwards.
DesLauriers said the second suspect was seen on video placing a backpack at the scene of the second bombing, in front of a local restaurant, named Forum, near the finish line, he said.
That bomb was placed at the site “within minutes” before it exploded, he said.
The two devices were placed on the ground within 100 feet of each other on Monday near the finish line, exploding about 12 seconds apart, starting about 2:50 p.m. The bombings were the highest-profile act of terror in the U.S. since the 2001 attacks on New York City and Washington.
According to DesLauriers, the men were seen on video walking through the Boston Marathon crowd on Boylston Street. After the second bomb was placed, Suspect No. 2 was seen walking west on Boylston Street, he said.
“The quality of the photographs is quite good, but we will continue to work on developing additional images,” he said.
DesLauriers added that the images released on Thursday were “the only ones that the public should view.
“For more than 100 years, the FBI has relied upon the public to be its eyes and ears,” he added. “We know the public will play a critical role in identifying and locating these individuals.
“No bit of information, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential, is too small for us to see. Each piece moves us forward toward justice.”
Under questioning by reporters, DesLauriers said, “There’s no additional imminent danger [to the public] that we are aware of right now.”
The blasts at the Boston Marathon killed three people: 8-year-old Martin Richard of Dorchester, Mass.; Krystle Campbell, 29, a restaurant manager who lived in Medford; and Lu Lingzi, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China.
On Thursday, a number of victims remained hospitalized, including seven who were in critical condition.
Fourteen people lost at least one limb in the blasts, The Boston Globe reports.
Releasing the images to the public carries both benefits and risks — and it is often done only after investigators have not been able to identify suspects on their own, one former law-enforcement official said.
“You’re likely to quickly get information about people you’re looking for, assuming the photos are clear enough,” said J. Patrick Rowan, an attorney with the McGuireWoods LLP law firm in Washington who served at the U.S. Justice Department for 18 years. He was the assistant attorney general for national security from 2008 to 2009. “The No. 1 downside: You’re also alerting them that the FBI is looking for them.”
Investigators said the bombs were made with pressure cookers packed with explosives and nails, pellets and other shrapnel to maim victims.
Authorities searching the site have since recovered bomb components, as well as a piece of circuit board believed to have been used to detonate the devices and the lid of a pressure cooker that was blown onto a rooftop.
Also on Thursday, President Barack Obama spoke at an interfaith service honoring the victims at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
Former GOP presidential candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney also attended the service.
Obama said he and First Lady Michelle Obama came to Boston to “pray and mourn and measure our loss. We also come today to reaffirm that the spirit of this city is undaunted and the spirit of this country shall remain undimmed.
“I’m here today on behalf of the American people with a simple message: Every one of us has been touched by this attack on your beloved city,” the president added. “Every one of us stands with you.”
In Washington, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a congressional committee that video from Monday’s bombings had caught the interest of investigators.
“We have been collecting video from a variety of sources,” she told the House Homeland Security Committee. “There is some video that has raised the question of those that the FBI would like to speak with.
“I wouldn't characterize them as suspects under the technical term, but we do need the public’s help in locating these individuals,” Napolitano said.
When asked by the committee’s chairman, GOP Rep. Mike McCaul of Texas, if officials considered it a foreign or domestic terror plot, she said, “Right now, we can’t say one way or the other.”
The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
Video Surveillance Video Related to Boston Bombings.mp4 http://bit.ly/XU4xGc
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